A matter of time
by Konzelwoman
Summary: A post was circulating tumblr a while back and gave me this idea. The post said, "If a clock could count down to the moment you meet your soul mate, would you want to know?"
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: And here is the first part of what my mind came up with. More to come. :)_

Xxx

Katniss woke up and rubbed her eyes groggily. Sitting up in her bed, she stretched with a yawn, and turned to put her feet on the floor, yanking them back quickly when the cold wooden boards met her bare skin.

Taking a deep breath, her eyes settling on her target across the room, she bounded out of the bed, running as if for her life to the bathroom and stood on the little bath mat outside the shower as she turned on the heater.

Switching her weight from foot to foot, arms wrapped around herself as she waited for it to warm up, she glanced down at her wrist.

The clock stared back at her almost mockingly. Like a magic 8-ball saying, "Try again later." Unmoving. Unchanging. Ever in the same place, she feared, for the rest of her life. Setting her jaw with a sigh, she stuck out her chin as if in defiance of the thing, still glaring at it out of the corner of her eye.

0000 days 00 h 00m 00s

She had come to terms with it, she really had. Or at least, she kept telling herself that. No marriage. No children. No extra mouths to feed or worry about. Just her. She smiled weakly at the thought. She liked her solitude. But as she began to think about an eternity of it, no one to come home to, to talk about your day or work with, to kiss goodnight, she began to feel her anxiety knot in her stomach.

Finally warm enough, she shook her head of the thoughts and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash them all away. She couldn't afford them.

Xxx

Arriving at school early as always, Katniss smiled at the silence of the halls, the calm before the storm.

She went to her locker and began to get ready for the day, getting only what she needed until lunch.

The locker next to hers squeaked open, startling her. She peeked around the open door of her locker to see none other than Peeta Mellark.

She scowled in confusion. He was never here this early. And he seemed…. Nervous. That was a first for him.

Peeta Mellark, the golden boy of Panem High, captain of the wrestling team, and a shoe in for the valedictorian of their class.

The baker's son, with long blonde eyelashes she couldn't look away from. Blonde, curly hair that flopped in his face and he pushed back in aggravation. Blue eyes that were staring back at her. Staring at her. Crap.

She smiled a nervous smile, being caught staring by the object of your stare ever the wonderful thing.

Peeta raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry," Katniss said quietly. "You're just never here this early. You startled me."

"Oh." His voice sounded far away, though his eyes were glued to hers. "Yeah, sorry. I just, um…." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Are you okay?" Katniss startled herself by asking. They had never really talked before. Sure, each had stolen glances, and been caught with a blush, or been assigned as partners in a class or two, but didn't talk much.

He seemed as startled as her by the question. His cheeks burning red, he chuckled nervously. "Um, yeah. I-I'm fine. It's just…. Nothing."

"Okay," Katniss said haltingly, turning back to her locker.

Suddenly Peeta was at her other side, leaning against the lockers, staring at her with an intensity that caught her off guard. "It's just, my clock."

Katniss raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

"It…. It has said zero since I was five. But I was in an assembly, and nothing _extraordinary_ happened, so I had no idea who it was. I came to terms with it, deciding to make my own path." Katniss wondered why he was sharing all of this with her. It seemed rather…. _Personal_. At least, more than something you just tell an acquaintance, but she listened as he continued. "And then today, it rolled back." Katniss eyebrows shot even higher. "Yeah, I know."

"So, how much time do you have?" She asked, her interest clearly peaked.

"A week and thirty minutes. Odd, I know."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. That's…. _Exciting_ news." She turned back to her locker.

"I was wondering if you could help me?"

She turned back to him, this time with a scowl, but it was short lived, seeing the sheepish smile he wore and the uncertainty in his eyes. Those eyes, that continued to gaze at her intently. Staring, seemingly to bore to her very soul.

Staring. Again. Crap.

Katniss cleared her throat. "How?" Still her voice squeaked.

"You are so light on your feet, you can sneak anywhere." _How does he know this?_ "I was hoping you could listen in, maybe see if anyone else's has that time on it, or reset, too, or is talking about me or-"

"If I say yes will you chill?"

"Like a pill." Katniss moaned and rolled her eyes at the pun, her smile betraying her.

"Fine."

He said they should exchange numbers and they could text to keep it a secret. Why he wanted it a secret, she had no clue, but obliged.

The nervousness around him seem to melt away as he grinned. Students started drifting in, so as he walked back around her to his locker, he whispered, "Help me, Katniss Everdeen. You're my only hope."

Katniss ducked her head into her locker, pretending to rifle through books, to try to hide her snort of amusement.

Xxx

The week went by too slowly for Katniss' liking. At first Peeta texted her non stop asking for updates, but after she threatened to bake a cookie and make him eat it, he stopped.

She smiled at the memory. They had taken an extra credit class together, and it was baking. Why the baker's son would need to take it, she didn't know. An easy A she guessed. But it was one of the only times they talked growing up.

She had made cookies and handed him one, only to have him bite into it and start gagging. After he inspected her table, he found she had used salt instead of sugar.

After the third day of simply reporting back nothing after school, he kept texting her, and they ended up playing twenty questions.

It carried over into their school days, as they passed each other in the hall, asking their next question and getting a yes or no and continuing on to class.

She learned a lot about him, as they talked about themselves to each other for no apparent reason, but she already knew most of it, and even some he didn't tell her.

He asked her to describe him in five ways. After much thought, she replied, _You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces._

He replied with a smilie face and told her goodnight. _At least I scared him off with only one day left._

Xxx

It was lunch time on the seventh day, and Peeta had exactly thirty minutes left on his timer. He had worn long sleeves all week to hide it. He had tried to sit alone, but Katniss texted him to do what he normally did. Otherwise, he might not cross paths with his _soulmate_.

Her stomach hurt when she typed out that word. She had grown fond of him, and knew once he had a special someone in his life, she would fall by the wayside.

She kept glancing at Peeta, and he seemed very calm, seemingly hiding his nerves very well.

When he glanced down at his wrist, and looked around, she knew he must have seconds left. He looked back down at it and stared, his face falling. Either it had run out, or there were only enough seconds left to make him realize it wasn't happening. He looked over his shoulder at her, met her eyes and smiled sadly with a shrug.

She tried her best to return it. She wanted this for him, but at the same time, she thought maybe they could continue their budding friendship. She hated herself for thinking about that, knowing it meant he had no soulmate.

He suddenly stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and went into the hall. She didn't hesitate in following him. "Peeta, wait up!" She called once she was in the hall.

He didn't answer, just kept walking, until he reached the door to outside. She followed him as he walked over to a tree, punching it as a tear fell down his face. Putting his back to it, he slid down to a hopeless puddle at it's base.

She carefully sat in front of him, cross legged, waiting on him to speak first.

When he didn't, she decided to pipe up. "It's okay," she offered lamely. "You know, my clock started ticking when I was eleven, but, only for a little while." She didn't dare tell him it was when he had run out in the rain after school just to hand her a cupcake with a K iced on it's top. "I think they're glitchy. There's always a flaw in the system." Peeta still wouldn't meet her eyes, so she pushed forward. "My clock hasn't even started yet," and she held it up for him to see. "I don't think it ever will."

Peeta looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious?"

"What?"

He scoffed. "You really have no idea. The effect you can have."

"What?"

"Katniss, boys would line up at your locker if any of them thought you would give them the time of day."

Now it was Katniss' turn to scoff.

"I'm serious!"

"Whatever." Sitting in silence for a few moments, Katniss got an idea. "Hey. You said it zeroed out the first time in a music assembly."

Peeta looked nervous. "Yeah."

"Well, anything about that stick in your memory? Maybe the person was there, but it just wasn't the right time. You were five after all."

Peeta blushed as he looked down and fisted the grass. "Yeah. Something sticks out."

"What?" Katniss was starting to get…. _Excited?_

"You were singing the Valley Song. I remember you sounded so pretty, and even the birds stopped to listen to you."

Katniss didn't know what to say.

"And today, it hit zero when I looked over my shoulder at you."

Katniss simply stared.

"Well, this is awkward," Peeta said.

"Well, you know, both of our clocks say zero."

"Thank you, captain obvious."

"No! Hear me out. Since they both read zero, we could pretend to be together. Maybe bring your jealous soulmate out of the woodworks. Your wayward star crossed lover."

"That's a crazy idea."

"So?"

Peeta stared at the grass again.

"So, Peeta. What do you say? Will you stay with me? Be my pretend boyfriend?" She said the last part in a silly voice.

Peeta smiled and picked a dandelion near his hand, handing it to her.

"Always."


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: People were a little confused as to why they didn't put 2 and 2 together, so I hope this clears things up._

Xxx

Peeta, ever the early riser, woke with the sun. A bird chirping outside his window causing a smile to creep up his face.

He walked slowly over to his bathroom, running his hand through his hair and down the back of his neck as he walked.

Looking down at the clock on his wrist, his heart fell when he saw it still was zeroed out.

0000 days 00h 00m 00s

Maybe there was some merit in the harsh words his mother said to him. Maybe he wasn't meant to be here. A mistake. After all, he was born with a defective clock that zeroed out when he was five. That was almost unheard of.

Closing his eyes, he scrubbed his face with his hands, trying to wipe away the words, and replace them with thoughts of grey eyes and braids. Grey eyes that shimmered like silver when she sang that day in assembly, all those years ago. The braid he'd stared at as he followed her down the halls, too afraid to approach her. The real reason his clock had run down.

Staring at his reflection in the mirror he gave his bed head a good shake, sighing as he looked back in the mirror and saw the explosion of curls.

He turned the water on in the shower so it could heat up, once again seeing the clock. His movements stilled. He couldn't look away. The numbers started rolling like the wheels of a slot machine until they finally stopped, only to slowly count down he seconds once again.

0007 days 00h 30m 00s

What were the odds?

0007 days 00h 29m 30s

Maybe this would work in his favor.

0007 days 00h 28m 00s

His stomach turned in knots. Then again, the odds were _never_ in his favor.

Xxx

He had showered as quickly as possible, the water already cold by the time his mind was working again, albeit at warp speed, and had to step back in for a second shower when he realized he hadn't even washed his hair. His mind had been everywhere but at the task at hand.

The only thing he could think to do was go to school. He couldn't eat, his stomach was too knotted up. Besides, he knew _she_ would be there anyway.

And he was right. There she was, going through her locker. Somehow fate had placed their lockers side by side, and today he was especially grateful.

Taking a deep breath, he walked as casually as possible over to his locker, spinning the lock as quickly as possible and opening it, cringing at the squeaking protest of the hinges.

She had stilled her movements. Trying to act busy, he started to load up his locker, flipping through pages of books aimlessly, packing, unpacking, and repacking the same books as he saw her staring out of the corner of his eye.  
>He was sweating. He wiped his hair back from his forehead casually, wiping away the drops of sweat and fighting the grin when he saw her eyes grow a shade darker.<p>

Looking up, she met his gaze with unnerving confidence. He almost looked away.

She smiled nervously, and he saw in her eyes she was pulling away. He raised an eyebrow in question to try to get her to at least speak to him once today.

Sorry," Katniss said quietly. "You're just never here this early. You startled me."

"Oh." Peeta said, an automatic response, his mind drifting back to that day when they were five as he held her gaze. "Yeah, sorry. I just, um…." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, realizing he was probably about to say something stupid.

"Are you okay?" Katniss asked, catching him off guard. She asked like they were old friends, but they had hardly ever talked aside from being partners in a class or two.

Peeta's cheeks felt hot, and he chuckled nervously. "Um, yeah. I-I'm fine. It's just…. Nothing."

"Okay," Katniss said haltingly, turning back to her locker.

_No no no no no!_ Peeta went to her other side, and leaned against the lockers as he stared at her with an intensity that seemed to shake her. "It's just, my clock." Was all Peeta could say.

Katniss raised her eyebrows in curiosity.

_Do I tell her?_ "It…. It has said zero since I was five. But I was in an assembly, and nothing extraordinary happened, so I had no idea who it was. I came to terms with it, deciding to make my own path." Katniss seemed interested, so he forged on. "And then today, it rolled back." Katniss eyebrows shot even higher. "Yeah, I know."

"So, how much time do you have?" She asked, her interest clearly peaked, and it was all he could do to contain his smile.

"A week and thirty minutes. Odd, I know."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck. That's…. _Exciting _news." She turned back to her locker.

_Seriously?_ "I was wondering if you could help me?"

She turned back to him, this time with a scowl, but it was short lived, as Peeta tried his best to look adorably pathetic, looking at her with rapt attention.

Realizing she was staring again, Katniss cleared her throat. "How?" He bit his lip as her voice squeaked.

"You are so light on your feet, you can sneak anywhere." He could tell she had no idea he had been watching her. "I was hoping you could listen in, maybe see if anyone else's has that time on it, or reset, too, or is talking about me or-" _Or realize I'm the love of your life?_

"If I say yes will you chill?"

Peeta smiled. "Like a pill." Katniss moaned and rolled her eyes at the pun, but smiled none the less, making Peeta's breath hitch in his chest.

"Fine."

He said they should exchange numbers and they could text to keep it a secret. _A secret, because I only need to talk to you._

His nerves calmed as he brushed hands with her as he passed the phone back to her, and he grinned. Students started drifting in, so as he walked back around her to his locker, he whispered, "Help me, Katniss Everdeen. You're my only hope."

Katniss ducked her head into her locker, and tried to look busy, but he smiled as he clearly heard her snort of laughter.

Xxx

The week went by too fast for Peeta's liking. At first he texted her non stop asking for updates, but after she threatened to bake a cookie and make him eat it, he stopped.

He shuddered at the memory. They had taken an extra credit class together, and it was baking. He took it to spend more time with her. But it was one of the only times they talked growing up.

She had made cookies and handed him one, only to have him bite into it and start gagging. After he inspected her table, he found she had used salt instead of sugar.

After the third day of simply reporting back nothing after school, he kept texting her, and they ended up playing twenty questions.

It carried over into their school days, as they passed each other in the hall, asking their next question and getting a yes or no and continuing on to class. He smiled a little brighter with each question, and he thought she did, too.

He learned a lot about her, as they talked about themselves to each other for no apparent reason, but he already knew most of it, and even some she didn't tell him. Which made him feel like a stalker.

He asked her to describe him in five ways. After a long pause, where he thought he'd scared her off, she finally replied, _You're a painter. You're a baker. You like to sleep with the windows open. You never take sugar in your tea. And you always double-knot your shoelaces._

She had been paying attention. He smiled at the screen stupidly. He could only reply with a smilie face and tell her goodnight, because otherwise he would say something stupid, like, _I love you_._ At least I haven't scared her off yet. Tomorrow we will see._

Xxx

It was lunch time on the seventh day, and Peeta had exactly thirty minutes left on his timer. He had worn long sleeves all week to hide it. He had tried to sit alone, but Katniss texted him and told him to do what he normally did. Otherwise, he might not cross paths with his _soulmate._

His stomach flipped when he read the last word, a smile on his face. _She knew._

He kept feeling her gaze on him, and it made him feel very calm, and safe.

When he glanced down at his wrist, he only had seconds left, so he looked around, seemingly aimlessly so as not to spoil her approach, but catching her still sitting at her table, her full attention on him. He looked back down at it and stared, his face falling.

0000 days 00h 00m 03s

He looked over his shoulder at her, met her eyes and smiled sadly with a shrug, counting down in his head. _Why wasn't she moving?_

He saw her try to smile back, but it looked more liken a grimace. Like she was saying, "Sorry. Not interested."

All of his built up hope crashed into pieces, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. The first time he was too chicken to say anything to her, and now she had all but said no. He stood up, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and went into the hall. He heard her behind him instantly. "Peeta, wait up!"

He didn't answer, just kept walking, until he reached the door to outside. She was still following him as he walked over to a tree, punched it as a tear fell down his face. Putting his back to it, he slid down to a hopeless puddle at it's base. _What did I do wrong?_

She slowly sat in front of him, cross legged, seeming to wait for him to speak first.

_Oh hell no. You got some explaining to do, Katniss._ Finally, she decided to pipe up. "It's okay," she offered lamely. "You know, my clock started ticking when I was eleven, but, only for a little while." _What?_ Thinking back, he remembered seeing numbers on her clock when he had given her a cupcake. _See? We're both defective! We should be defective together!_ "I think they're glitchy. There's always a flaw in the system." Peeta refused to meet her eyes, lost in his thoughts. _What else can I do to let you see what I see?_ She pushed forward. "My clock hasn't even started yet," and she held it up for him to see. "I don't think it ever will."

Peeta looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious?" _Is she serious?_

"What?"

He scoffed. "You really have no idea. The effect you can have." _It's dizzying. It's addicting. It's wonderful._

"What?"

"Katniss, boys would line up at your locker if any of them thought you would give them the time of day." His heart hurt and jealousy threatened to tear it's ugly head as he said this, but he shoved it down.

Now it was Katniss' turn to scoff.

"I'm serious!"

"Whatever." Sitting in silence for a few moments, Katniss got an idea. "Hey. You said it zeroed out the first time in a music assembly."

Peeta got nervous. "Yeah." He swallowed hard. _Okay. Not right now. I can't._

"Well, anything about that stick in your memory? Maybe the person was there, but it just wasn't the right time. You were five after all." _Oh, she was there, and she was five, too._

Peeta blushed as he looked down and fisted the grass. "Yeah. Something sticks out." _Be smooth._

"What?" Katniss sounded almost…. Excited?

_Here it goes._ "You were singing the Valley Song. I remember you sounded so pretty, and even the birds stopped to listen to you." _And there it is._

Katniss didn't say anything.

_Okay._ "And today, it hit zero when I looked over my shoulder at you." _I'm so tired, Katniss._

Katniss simply stared at him.

"Well, this is awkward," Peeta said. _You bear your soul and it gets stepped on._

"Well, you know, both of our clocks say zero."

"Thank you, captain obvious."

"No! Hear me out. Since they both read zero, we could pretend to be together. Maybe bring your jealous soulmate out of the woodworks. Your wayward star crossed lover." _Lover? Hmmmm…._

"That's a crazy idea."

"So?"

Peeta stared at the grass again. He wanted to smile. _She really has no idea._

"So, Peeta. What do you say? Will you stay with me? Be my pretend boyfriend?" She said the last part in a silly voice, and he finally allowed himself to smile.

_Oh, it is on._ Peeta thought as he picked a dandelion near his hand, handing it to her.

"Always." _Let the games begin._


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since the whole "secret lovers" pact had been made, and the week had been _eventful_ to say the least.

Katniss could think of at least several other ways to describe it.

Awkward.  
>Long.<br>Embarrassing.

And yet, the one that came quickest and most often was _amazing_.

At first, all the negative descriptors came into play.

_Eventful_ was explaining to everyone why they were suddenly the doting couple. Meeting the families - that one bled all the bad words together into one giant catastrophe. She couldn't decided if Peeta's ability to talk his way into or out of any situation made her relived or suspicious. But she was still relieved when he had offered to do the all talking.

_Awkward_ was the dates they had gone on. Only two, but they both spent that majority of the first one looking at their menus, or the pattern of the table top. And the second was much like the first, but ended in a whole new level of _awkward_ - a good night kiss. She had never kissed anyone before, and Peeta admitted as much about himself after they bashed their noses together on first approach and he apologized profusely, not meeting her eyes as he admitted the fact. And the whole thinness just _awkward_. And as much as she wanted out of that moment, she couldn't deny the butterflies it brought to her stomach. They felt more like bats. Or eagles. She kicked herself internally. She was seventeen. She didn't get winged things in her stomach.

_Long_ was plain and simple. The week was _long_. The dates were _long_. And the time they spent away from each other seemed entirely too _long_. Was she actually missing him?

_Embarrassing_ was just that. _Embarrassing_. _Mortifying_._Humiliating_. _Exhilarating_. Wait, what? Meeting his parents, his father highly approving, and his mother the polar opposite. His brothers eyeing her, making her feel _uncomfortable_. Meeting her mother and little sister, the same as his parents - polar opposites, only, her mother was more wary than disapproving. She saw Peeta shift under her mother's gaze, and she smiled smugly, glad that he was finally, also, _uncomfortable_ for once. But that also made her feel _exhilarated_, knowing she could make him squirm. It made him more human. More approachable. More…. She gulped at the turn her thoughts were taking.

_Amazing_ was the one she most admittedly did not expect to feel. Well, she did, because, who was she kidding? This was _Peeta Mellark_, after all. But the type of _amazing_, the intensity of it, was just…. _Amazing_. It made her smile a smile she couldn't wipe away, making Peeta laugh when she tried to scowl and it still was there, making her look like a rabid chipmunk.

She scrubbed her face with her hands before staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. _What had she gotten herself into?_ Sure, she could now admit to having feelings for Peeta Mellark, eventful, awkward, long, embarrassing, uncomfortable, amazing, mortifying, humiliating, exhilarating feelings. She laughed at herself. She laughed long and hard. Trailing off as she realized exactly what all those words meant. _Real_. She had real feelings for him. And as much as she expected that to be a weight on her shoulders, the realization was more freeing than anything.

What she had for him was real. Or was it?

She debated back and forth, real or not real, deciding it didn't matter as she glanced down at the clock on her wrist. That stupid thing stared back at her.

0090 days 00h 00m 00s

It was stupid to have feelings for him, anyway, there was no way he-

0090 days 24h 59m 30s

She stared at it dumbly. Something was off. Not only was it ticking, it was ticking at half the speed it should be, as if dragging it's toes.

She smiled absently as a memory of Peeta telling her to stop dragging her toes as she approached his parent's house, and saw her clock tick at normal speed. Her smile melting and her mind focusing on the clock, it went back to ticking at half speed.

She jumped as her phone vibrated on the bathroom counter with a text from Peeta, asking if he could call her. All she could respond with her shaking hand was, "K". She hated texting slang. She never used it. Peeta was going to frea-

She jumped again as her phone blared his ringtone, Kung Fu Fighting, and looked at his picture on the caller ID, one he had taken when he hijacked her phone while she ran to use the restroom on one of the dates. He was making a silly face. She glanced down at her clock, ticking in normal time once again as she answered.

0090 days 24h 42m 30s

"Hello?"

"You okay?"

Crap. Why was he so perceptive?

"Yeah. Right as rain, why, lover boy?"

"You just sound…. Off." She heard the smile in his voice despite the subject. He liked that nickname. Good. All the better to butter him up to leave her alone while she figured this thing out. Ha! Butter up the baker's boy.

"You're off," she countered and heard his chuckle. "Off your rocker."

He made his voice sound like an old man. "Now, young whipper snapper, don't make me come over there and wave my cane in your face."

Katniss' voice was dry, sarcastic, and she even adopted a slow monotone. "Oh, no. Please don't do that, Mr. Mellark! Not the cane!"

"Yes! The cane of shame!"

She found herself laughing with him. How did he always do this?

"I'm glad you are at least laughing, sour puss," he said with a chuckle.

"Only at your expense, Mr. Sunshine."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I know. I'm quick like that."

She glanced down at her clock, then looked at the phone for the call time. The speed of her clock had sped up to almost three times the normal speed. Just like she said. Glitchy.

0090 days 22h 22m 14s

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not good with words."

"We've established this."

She scowled even though he couldn't see her, and she heard him chuckle. "Hey. Don't look at me like that."

Her scowl melted. "How did you-"

"Katniss? Scowl? Kinda go hand in hand."

She scowled again despite her grin and she she heard him laugh again. "Hey! I said no scowling!"

"Okay, stop that. You're freaking me out."

0090 days 15h 21m 12s

Katniss gulped. "Hey, Peeta, can I FaceTime you for a second?"

"Uh, sure?"

She didn't want her mom or sister to hear her conversation, so she went into the bathroom and shut the door, turning on the fan to create a little more noise to cover the conversation.

"But first, what are you wearing?"

"Peeta!"

"Okay, okay!"

He accepted her FaceTime request.

His face scrunched up in confusion. "Where are you?"

"My bathroom."

"Oh. Look, Katniss, I like you and all, but I don't think our relationship has reached this point yet-"

"Peeta Mellark." He was trying so hard not to laugh at her scowl and stony stare. "_This_ is what I wanted to show you." She pushed the button to flip to the front camera, and her toilet filled the screen.

"You have a lovely porcelain throne, but I don't know why-"

"Peeta, shut up!"

She was annoyed but glad he couldn't see her smile.

"Katniss, what are you-" he stopped when she held up her wrist, showing him her clock.

0090 days 15h 15m 14s

"Wow." He sounded slightly disappointed.

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Right before you called."

"It knew I was thinking about you."

"Okay. That's creepy."

He laughed, and her clock sped up.

"Wait a minute! Did it just-"

"Yup." She popped the "p". "Like I said. Glitchy."

"Wait. You say that like it has done that already."

"Mmm-hmm. Because it has, oh smart one."

"When does it do that?"

She flipped the camera back to the front one, immediately wishing she hadn't as she saw her fierce blush fill the screen. "When I think of you."

"Excuse me?" He didn't sound insulted. He sounded almost…. _Breathless?_

"When I thought of something we did this week that made me smile, it sped up. When I stated at it, it slowed down to less than actual speed."

"It probably was afraid of your scowl. Like I am." She scowled, and he pretended to shudder. "See?"

"And since we have been on the phone, it is moving at insane speeds."

"Where did it start?"

"90 days."

"Anything in particular set it off? I mean, we're you thinking about anything particular?"

She blushed again. "Why, were you?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah."

"Oh. What?"

He hesitated. "Girls."

"Ew."

"Well, a girl."

"Ew!"

"Not like that, Katniss. I swear." He sounded defensive. And now, he sounded vulnerable. "I would never."

"I was thinking about our week." _Way to go, Katniss. Just throw that out there. Way to butter him up. Yeah. Good job, oh smart one. Good job._

He seemed to perk up at this. "Oh?"

"Yeah. And how awkward everything was." That wasn't a total lie. She just left out the whole realizing it was real thing. No biggie.

"Oh." He sounded deflated, defeated, sad even.

"But I was also reliving a few of the highlights." _Just stop talking. Go find super glue. Or duct tape. And glue your mouth shut. Duct tape. That way when you decide to stick your foot in your mouth again, you can just rip it off._

She gulped. "Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

She flipped the camera again to show her wrist, hearing his quick intake of breath.

0087 days 20h 13m 10s

"How did I just lose three days?"

"You are just special, Katniss. One in a million. Maybe even more."

"What do I do?"

"Wait it out. Don't worry. I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. I owe you."

"Pffft!" Katniss objected, flipping the camera back around, softening at the look on Peeta's face, smiling as he tsk'd at her.

"We protect each other. It's what we do."

She could only stare at him. The only thoughts in her head, _Peeta Mellark. Real, or not real? Real. Real. Real._ The last word echoing as her breath hitched in her throat at his last words.

"I'll carry your world."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a week since the whole "secret lovers" pact had been made, and the week had been _eventful_ to say the least.

Peeta could think of at least several other ways to describe it.

Awkward.  
>Long.<br>Embarrassing.

And yet, the one that came quickest and most often was _amazing_.

At first, all the negative descriptors came into play.

_Eventful_ was explaining to everyone why they were suddenly the doting couple. Meeting the families - that one bled all the bad words together into one giant catastrophe. Luckily Peeta could talk his way into or out of any situation, but he felt this made her Katniss suspicious of him. But she was still relieved when he had offered to do the all talking.

_Awkward_ was the dates they had gone on. Only two, but they both spent the majority of the first one looking at their menus, or the pattern of the table top, when he wasn't busy trying not to stare at her. And the second was much like the first, but ended in a whole new level of _awkward_ - a good night kiss. She had embarrassedly admitted to never kissing anyone before, and Peeta admitted as much about himself after they bashed their noses together on first approach and he apologized profusely, not meeting her eyes as he admitted the fact. And the whole thing was just _awkward_. And as much as he wanted to climb under a rock at that moment, the blush it brought to her face was totally worth it.

_Long_ was plain and simple. The week was _long_. The dates were _long_. And the time they spent away from each other seemed entirely too _long_. Was she missing him as much as he missed her?

_Embarrassing_ was just that. _Embarrassing_. _Mortifying_. _Humiliating_. _Exhilarating_. Wait, what? Meeting his parents, his father highly approving, and his mother the polar opposite. His brothers eyeing her, making her obviously feel _uncomfortable_, and him wanting to punch them. Meeting her mother and little sister, the same as his parents - polar opposites, only, her mother was more wary than disapproving. Peeta shifted under her mother's gaze, and he caught her smug smile, obviously glad that he was finally, also, _uncomfortable_ for once. But that only made him feel _exhilarated_, knowing she noticed him. It made her more human. More approachable. More…. He gulped at the turn his thoughts were taking.

_Amazing_ was the one he most admittedly did not expect to feel. Well, he did, because, who was he kidding? This was _Katniss Everdeen_, after all. But the type of _amazing_, the intensity of it, was just…. _Amazing_. Seeing her smile more often was worth every bit of terrible the week had held.

Peeta smiled stupidly down at his phone for like the billionth time. He had a picture of the two of them side by side, smiling pulled up. _What had he gotten himself into?_ Sure, he had always had feelings for Katniss Everdeen, eventful, awkward, long, embarrassing, uncomfortable, amazing, mortifying, humiliating, exhilarating feelings. He chuckled to himself, realizing what those words meant. _Real_. It was freeing to be able to express those feelings.

He had real feelings for her. But the question was, did she for him?

He debated back and forth, real, or not real, deciding he had to know as he glanced down at the clock on his wrist.

0000 days 00h 00m 00s

He texted her, asking if he could call.

Shortly after he received a response. "K". She never used text slang. She hated it. Peeta dialed her number in haste, hoping she was okay.

Her voice sounded normal when she answered, much to his relief. "Hello?"

"You okay?" He had to make sure.

"Yeah. Right as rain, why, lover boy?"

"You just sound…. Off." He smiled at the nickname.

"You're off," she countered and he chuckled. "Off your rocker."

He made his voice sound like an old man. "Now, young whipper snapper, don't make me come over there and wave my cane in your face."

Katniss' voice was dry, sarcastic, and she even adopted a slow monotone. "Oh, no. Please don't do that, Mr. Mellark! Not the cane!"

"Yes! The cane of shame!"

He laughed and found her laughing with him. That beautiful, beautiful laugh.

"I'm glad you are at least laughing, sour puss," he said with a chuckle.

"Only at your expense, Mr. Sunshine."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. I know. I'm quick like that."

There was a slight pause, but it was comfortable.

"Peeta?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not good with words."

"We've established this."

He could practically hear her scowl, and he chuckled. "Hey. Don't look at me like that."

"How did you-"

"Katniss? Scowl? Kinda go hand in hand."

He laughed. "Hey! I said no scowling!"

"Okay, stop that. You're freaking me out."

He heard Katniss gulp. _What was wrong?_ "Hey, Peeta, can I FaceTime you for a second?"

"Uh, sure?"

He heard her fumble around for a second, and decided to make small talk.

"But first, what are you wearing?"

"Peeta!"

"Okay, okay!"

He accepted her FaceTime request.

His face scrunched up in confusion. "Where are you?"

"My bathroom."

"Oh. Look, Katniss, I like you and all, but I don't think our relationship has reached this point yet-"

"Peeta Mellark." He was trying so hard not to laugh at her scowl and stony stare. "_This_ is what I wanted to show you." She pushed the button to flip to the front camera, and her toilet filled the screen.

"You have a lovely porcelain throne, but I don't know why-"

"Peeta, shut up!"

He could tell she was smiling.

"Katniss, what are you-" he stopped when she held up her wrist, showing him her clock.

0090 days 15h 15m 14s

"Wow." He tried but was unsuccessful in hiding the disappointment in his tone. _Of course. Of course this is when her clock starts. I finally get here, and…. Man, karma's a bi-_

"Yeah."

"When?"

"Right before you called."

"It knew I was thinking about you." He tried to sound sweet. _Play it cool, man._

"Okay. That's creepy." _Of course._

Okay. That didn't work. He laughed, and her clock sped up.

"Wait a minute! Did it just-"

"Yup." She popped the "p". "Like I said. Glitchy."

"Wait. You say that like it has done that already."

"Mmm-hmm. Because it has, oh smart one."

"When does it do that?"

She flipped the camera back to the front one, and he noticed she was blushing. "When I think of you."

"Excuse me?" He sounded almost…. _Breathless?_ _Keep it together, man._

"When I thought of something we did this week that made me smile, it sped up. When I stated at it, it slowed down to less than actual speed."

"It probably was afraid of your scowl. Like I am." She scowled, and he pretended to shudder. "See?"

"And since we have been on the phone, it is moving at insane speeds."

"Where did it start?"

"90 days."

"Anything in particular set it off? I mean, we're you thinking about anything particular?" _Like, I don't know, a tall, blonde, dorky kid, like, I don't know…. Oh! Uh, me!_

She blushed again. "Why, were you?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Yeah." _Oh yeah._

"Oh. What?"

He hesitated. "Girls." _Grey eyes, and braids, and a voice like an angel._

"Ew."

"Well, a girl." _You! I was thinking about you!_

"Ew!"

"Not like that, Katniss. I swear." He would never do that to her. That was not the kind of guy he was, sure he got lost in the thought of braids and grey eyes and the way she snorted when she laughed. "I would never."

"I was thinking about our week."

He seemed to perk up at this. "Oh?" _Score one for Peeta!_

"Yeah. And how awkward everything was."

"Oh." _And we're back to square one._

"But I was also reliving a few of the highlights." She gulped. "Peeta?"

"Yeah?" _That kiss was definitely a highlight._

She flipped the camera again to show her wrist, hearing his quick intake of breath.

0087 days 20h 13m 10s

"How did I just lose three days?"

"You are just special, Katniss. One in a million. Maybe even more." _Hell, I've known that forever._

"What do I do?"

"Wait it out. Don't worry. I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. I owe you." _I love you._

"Pffft!" Katniss objected, flipping the camera back around, softening at the look on Peeta's face, smiling as he tsk'd at her.

"We protect each other. It's what we do." _Always have, always will._

She could only stare at him. Her breath hitched in her throat at his last words.

"I'll carry your world." _I'll carry you if I have to. We'll make it through._


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: No matter how I phrase this, it is going to sound angry, but I am merely explaining. _

_A lot of people are telling me the whole Katniss/Peeta POV thing being so similar seems lazy and unnecessary._

_The whole reason I was doing it was to show that two people, in the same room, in the same conversation, with each other even, can be so drastically different depending on your frame of mind._

_Yes, I use a lot of the same paragraphs, but if you read them, I have purposely changed a lot of words, small as they may be, to show one thing. - perception changes everything. _

_Willingness to see is not a given. _

_Just because 2 + 2 = 4, you don't know that until you learn, and even then you don't always know why. _

_This is the first story I have written in this style, and it has mixed reviews. Mostly good, saying they really like the style, but the ones unhappy with it have made me self conscious, so I will try to change it over to a less confusing format that doesn't seem so drastic. _

_Once again, thank you all so much for the support and comments. They really keep me going and put a smile on my face, no matter if they are good or bad. _

Xxx

Katniss was getting very annoyed with this so called "perfect system" known as the soul mate timer.

Having to explain why hers was going bonkers. But why she was still "dating" Peeta.

Having to see everyone else fall in love and just _know_.

Seeing everyone else around her find forever, while all she had seemed to be borrowed, broken time.

Dealing with the looks that everyone tossed her way.

Some dripping with pity, others gossiping and giggling as she walked past. She heard every last whispered word. "Even her clock is defective. There's no one for her. I always knew that, but still."

The most difficult, however, was seeing her friends find their person.

Gale bumped into Johanna at the supermarket, literally ran right into her, and while she waved her hands and shouted expletives at him, he noticed her clock blinking a zeroed out time. A glance at his confirmed it. They were soul mates.

Finnick and Annie already knew. They were one of the lucky few who not only knew each other prior, they were dating. Apparently their timers went off when they were _together_ last week. Annie would blush as she told the story, but Finn seemed to beam with pride.

Left and right people were finding end game, but either Katniss was playing a different game, or someone above her pay grade was changing the rules on her without so much as a post it note.

She was grumbling as much when Peeta laughed beside her, startling her. She had gotten lost in her head. Again. And it always seemed to be his laugh that brought her back.

Glancing down at her wrist, the clock was flying by the seconds, but slowly went back to normal time.

She rolled her eyes and groaned as she looked at the ceiling. They were in the back of the bakery, Katniss "helping" to ice cupcakes. Her version of helping was holding a bowl of frosting and using a spoon to eat out of it.

The first time she did it, Peeta had opened his mouth to say something, but without even looking up, Katniss had made him snap his mouth shut with a, "I don't wanna hear it, Mellark."

Peeta's older brother Ben, the middle brother, snickered across the room at this, earning a dirty, wet rag in his face from Katniss. He screamed in surprise on it's impact, making both Peeta and Katniss laugh.

Katniss stared into the bowl of icing. It must have been several minutes since she had taken a bite because Peeta looked concerned.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked, causing her to break her trance of a fronting stare off and meet his gaze.

She didn't want to be the first to break it, but she had to. Looking back to the bowl and dragging her finger through the frosting, she sighed. "I…. I'm just tired of playing a losing game. It's like, I'm stuck in the middle of this giant game, and all these pieces are moving, and I don't know the rules. And just when I think I figure them out, it's like they've changed."

"I know how you feel."

She chances a glance up at him. Oops. There were those _real_ feelings bubbling up again. _Stupid bats._

"What do you mean?"

Peeta sighed. "I'm so tired, Katniss. I have to tell you something."

Ben had eased his way closer to them and was waking around with his hands behind his back, whistling.

"Get lost, Ben."

The look of shock on Ben's face was almost comical. He snapped his jaw shut and screwed up his face. "How rude."

They were all laughing when Mrs. Mellark walked in, silencing anything happy within ten feet of her.

"Well, Peeta. I see your _girlfriend_ is here." Her sarcasm was not lost on them. Katniss felt her anger flailing at a dangerously high level.

"Yes, she is, mother," Peeta said calmly.

Ben stepped between the two and tried to diffuse the situation. "We were just icing some of the cupcakes. She's helping, mom."

"I can see that. Helping herself get nice and fat off of _my_ icing."

"If I remember correctly, I mixed that up this morning," Peeta said, straightening his back to his full height.

His mother stared daggers at him. _If looks could kill,_ Katniss thought.

"You ungrateful child!"

Both Peeta and Ben were between Katniss and his mother, Ben trying to get between her and Peeta.

Peeta stood his ground as he said lowly, "Run, Katniss."

"What?" She barely had any sound to her tone.

"I said run. Please." He looked over to her. "Go. We protect each other, right?"

"It's what we do." Her voice catching in her throat. Despite all her resistance, she obeyed.

It all happened at once. She jumped off the counter and grabbed her bag, looking over her shoulder as she headed to the door.

Mrs. Mellark let out an animal like shriek and went to chase after her, calling her all kinds of names, the two boys holding her back.

Peeta looked over his shoulder and met Katniss eyes where she was frozen. "Katniss! What are you doing? Run! Go!" He practically screamed at her.

The last thing she saw before she was out the door was his mother shove Ben out of the way with remarkable force, and punch Peeta in the face, making him fall to the ground.

"Not real. Not real. Not real." She muttered to herself as she ran out the building.

But the yelling and clamoring she heard from inside proved her wrong. It was all _too real._

Xxx

Peeta wasn't at school the next day.

Or the next.

By the third day of missing him at her locker, behind her in class, at her table at lunch, she marched into the Principal's office, demanding answers of his secretary.

When the befuddled woman with large hair called for security, a large, warm, calloused hand landed on Katniss' shoulder, making her go stiff.

"Don't worry, Ef. I got this one." Katniss instantly relaxed at the voice. Haymitch. The school grief counselor who had helped when her dad had died. They were two peas in a pod, but they liked to pretended they disagreed on everything.

Once inside his office, Haymitch gave her a hug. A warm, full, complete embrace. After her father had gone, she thought she would never feel this again. Granted, it wasn't the same as her daddy, but it was as close as she could get, and he knew that.

Pushing her to arms length, Haymitch peered down at her, his eyes softening when they met hers. "What's your beef, sweetheart? Nearly gave my girl Effie back there a heart attack." He chuckled and went behind his desk. When she didn't answer, he continued. "Don't get me wrong, I like your spark. It's what makes you, well…. _You._ But Effie out there? You got her worked into a tizzy higher than her hair. So spill." He pointed to the chair across the desk from him.

She reluctantly plopped down in it unceremoniously, causing Haymitch to chuckle. After a short stare off between the two, Katniss huffed. "It's Peeta." She mumbled.

"The boy?"

Katniss looked leery. "Yes, he is a male…."

"No, you know what I mean. Quit being a butt."

Katniss smiled at this. Their terms of endearment were strange and she loved it.

"Peeta Mellark?" He clarified.

"The one and only."

"Your boy?"

Katniss gulped. "Y-yeah."

Haymitch narrowed his eyes at her. "Spill."

"I don't know what you mean, Hay-"

"I said spill, Everdeen!"

With a roll of her eyes she told him the whole story of the clocks and their plan to bring his "soulmate" out from the cold.

When she finished he whistled lowly. "Wow. You really have no idea, do you?"

"Excuse me?" _Why does everyone say this? Assume I'm clueless._

"The effect you have."

"Haymitch…."

"It's not my place to say anything more. Just let me say this, though. You could live a thousand lifetimes and still not deserve him."

"I know." She said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Now, that's not to say you shouldn't try. By all means. You are obviously smitten with him."

He chuckled as she snapped her head up to look at him.

"Yes, it's _that_ obvious, sweetheart."

"Well, then, by all means. Please tell me where he is, oh wise and masterful Haymitch, so that I may go and plead from him his love and affections?"

Despite her grin, Haymitch's face was grave. "He's in the hospital."

Katniss face went instantly pale.

"I'll drive you. I can write some excuse for you and take you there. He's your partner in a class, right?"

Katniss nodded absently as she stared at the empty chair that Haymitch had just been sitting in.

She followed him out of his office, saw him talk to Effie. She nodded when he asked her to write up some excuse for her, looking both ways before giving her a kiss on the cheek, making her blush profusely. Katniss smiled absently. It was nice to know she had allies in more places than one. Haymitch put a hand on Katniss' back to escort her out to the car, opening her door for her. "Get in, sweetheart."

She wrapped him in a giant hug first and he whispered in her ear as he rubbed her back, "It'll be okay, sweetheart."

Pulling away, Katniss said, "I know." And right before Haymitch closed the door, she met his eyes and stared, an unbidden smile creeping up her face. "And don't call me sweetheart."


End file.
